Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 59 of 65

Sunday night Violetta carried Elowen up the walk to her mom and dad's house. Jordie held the diaper bag and a foil pan of rolls. The porch light was on. Through the front window she could see Missy setting the table and Max carrying water glasses. She had not told anyone yet that she had surrendered the studio. Paul opened the door before she knocked. He took Elowen first, then the rolls. "Roast is almost done," he said. "Sit before your back goes." Lymber came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. She looked at Violetta's face and then at Jordie's, and her mouth got smaller. She pulled a chair out at the table without saying anything. They ate. Missy fed Elowen a piece of soft carrot. Max asked Jordie about the new house. Violetta pushed food around her plate until Paul set his fork down and looked at her. "Say it," Paul said. "You've been chewing the same bite for five minutes." Violetta put her fork down. "I gave up the studio Friday. I'm not entering the next showcase. I'm keeping the internship and that's all I'm doing until the baby comes." The room went still. Missy stopped chewing. Max looked at Lymber. "For how long," Lymber said. "A year. Maybe more. I can't stand at two tables. I sit down on Fridays and nothing happens. I'd rather stop than make bad work." Jordie set his hand on the back of her chair. He did not speak for her. Lymber folded her towel in her lap. "Then that's what you do." Violetta looked up. "That's it?" "You know your body," Lymber said. "You know your kid. You know the job. If you say the math doesn't work, I believe you." Paul nodded. "The showcase isn't the last one they'll ever hold. You can enter when you can enter." "I'm not quitting fashion," Violetta said. It came out sharper than she meant. "I want that clear. I'm pausing the showcase. Not the work. The internship counts. What I learn there counts." "Nobody said you were quitting," Paul said. "People will." "People aren't at this table," Lymber said. Missy reached over and pressed her hand flat on top of Violetta's. "You made a whole dress with roses on it. You can make another one after the baby." Violetta laughed once, wet. Max passed her a napkin without looking up from his plate. She ate the rest of her dinner. Her back still hurt. The showcase was still gone. But the thing she had been carrying up the walk, the fear that they would argue with her or grieve at her, was gone too. She had said it out loud at the table and the table had held. On the drive home Jordie asked if she was okay. She said yes, and meant it, and put her hand on her stomach.